We talk about smart healthcare, smart cities, smart grids and other aspects of a smarter planet – but do you ever wonder how increasingly intelligent products become interconnected with disparate systems, other devices, global users, and online services?

As a critical first step in determining how all aspects of product delivery will be managed, new IBM Rational software helps enable software developers and systems engineers to meet precise design criteria, comply with industry standards and compatibility challenges, and exchange data accurately.

Companies such as UPS are turning to organizations like Eaton Corporation, where a range of IBM Rational software products were used to create a new breed of hybrid drivetrain that has been tested by the EPA to improve fuel economy by up to 70%.

The pressure on organizations to find new ways to increase market share and outsmart their competition has never been higher, and businesses serving every market segment are finding new ways to deliver greater value with capabilities that can only be provided by software. This competitive edge is not without challenge. Teams creating these innovative products often struggle with increasingly complex design environments. IBM is helping its clients reduce the cost and risk of bringing smarter products to market with new resources that help make innovation a reality.

IBM Rational Team Webtop helps organizations creating smarter products improve collaboration by providing users with a composite view of the information stored in disparate tool repositories like IBM Rational DOORS, IBM Rational Tau, and IBM Rational Change. Development teams can collaborate on reviews with integrated threaded discussion and change management capabilities. The common navigation panel allows users to see development artifacts limited to the current project or across the wider organization, and the common details panel provides quick access to specific information about the current item including attributes, links and threaded discussions.